July 29, 2010

As one who has been known to complain about the Village DPW crew (why, for example, do they prune the forsythia in September, thus ensuring there will be nary a yellow bloom come the spring?), I want to give credit where credit is due.

In June a large branch fell from the street tree in front of the house.

When I went to pick it up, expecting I'd need to use a bit of muscle, I was surprised to find it weighed no more than a few ounces. The limb was totally rotten, with just the bark holding the sawdust and dirt together.

We called the Village, and soon thereafter a crew arrived to pick up the limb and look at the tree. They agreed that the tree was in terrible shape and needed to be removed.

Until just a few years ago the tree had been completely shaded by a much larger and dominant tree across the street, and this tree had but a few spindly branches on the top. Its only function, it seemed, was to provide a home to squirrels, which had been living in the tree since we moved in.

Several weeks went by, and I thought about calling the Village again. Then one morning we heard the trucks arrive, and soon they set to work.

It didn't take long to bring the tree down. While the trunk was still fairly solid for about eight feet up, the rot was clearly working its way down. And the area where the squirrels had been living was practically hollow.

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A seasoned communications professional with more than 25 years of experience in media, public relations, business communications and website development, Emily recently "rewired" and is now writing, consulting, and spending as many hours as possible in her garden.